Crystal Prestige Elite

I’ve just returned from a stay at Crystal Prestige Elite in Göynük, Antalya, and I feel totally depressed by the entire experience. If you’re an English speaker, I strongly advise against staying here. I’m so sad to have wasted my precious holiday at this establishment. From the moment I arrived, I felt alienated. The staff made no effort to communicate, rarely smiled, and on several occasions allowed other guests to push ahead of me in queues without acknowledging me. By day four, after being completely ignored at Reception when I went to ask about a taxi, I broke down in tears. My three-year-old daughter saw me cry for the first time and tried to comfort me, she was so upset by it, it actually broke my heart. The language barrier was the major issue. Very few staff spoke any English, most were visibly uncomfortable when they realised you spoke English. Of course I don’t expect everyone to speak perfect English in a Turkish resort, but I do expect basic friendliness and an attempt to help. It felt like there was a deep embarrassment or fear of being exposed for not understanding English among the staff. One staff member even walked me away from a busy desk so he could attempt to speak to me without the embarrassment of being overheard by his colleagues. The worst part of the stay came on the last night. While in the lobby bar with my daughter, I was suddenly surrounded by security staff, it was really frightening. One used Google Translate to tell me I didn’t have the correct wristband—a wristband I had never been given and should have had at check-in! I had spent the entire week being treated poorly for this simple reason, and not a single staff member had attempted to inform me. It was devastating. Staff couldn’t communicate and didn’t want the hassle or embarrassment of hitting the language barrier, I was much easier to just ignore or treat like a scammer. What should’ve been a simple issue to resolve instead caused upset all week, when I released I felt utterly humiliated. You find yourself in such a vulnerable position when you check into a resort, you are entirely in the hands of the staff and you have to trust that you will be treated correctly. I would never imagine that the entire team would let you walk around breaking a fundamental rule for an entire week. No one had the basic empathy or proactivity to explain the wristband situation, and I was treated like a criminal because of it for the entire duration of my stay. It was so uncomfortable. Why were we not given a wrist band at check in like everyone else?? If you speak Russian or German, you’ll likely have a great time here. It’s a mostly lovely hotel, not perfect but with great kids’ facilities. The hundreds of five-star reviews from German and Russian speakers show that it is possible to have a good time at Crystal Prestige. But if you speak English be prepared to treated with disdain and ignored. To the management: focus on catering to German and Russian tourists. Stop mar

We stayed here for two weeks at the beginning of August, and despite a few annoyances (mainly due to other guests), we enjoyed our stay. The hotel itself felt clean and safe, with an army of staff. All pools are lifeguarded between 9-6pm, and the beach area had a sectioned-off swim area away from the watersports. It all seemed safe and very well organised. We found staff friendly (their English will always be better than my Turkish!) We had no issues finding sunbeds. There were still some available at 10am (especially by the beach). If you have a favourite spot or pool you will have to rise earlier though. We saw some good shows (especially Michael Jackson), and thought the entertainment was varied. You do need to get to the show 45-60mins beforehand if you want a table, but there were always chairs to pull up. We stayed in a pool view family room, with a double and two proper twin beds. The aircon was very good but the room was more dated than I was expecting. I think they could all do with redecoration. We loved that we had instant access to the pool and didn’t have to battle the lifts. However, they are noisy! Expect music from the main arena until 1am. We had earplugs and after a day in the pool the kids passed out, so we didn’t find it a problem. Kids club was clean and had good air con. Seemed to have a varied programme. Mainly aimed towards Russian/Turkish children, so any films will be in those languages. I’d like to also mention our housekeeper in room 1740 was fantastic! So friendly and efficient! The food was nice. I think buffets are always become a bit samey. Sometimes for dinner we struggled to find anything we fancied. There would be big queues for the grill, especially when people piled their plates up and left nothing for the rest of the queue (which happened frequently). They’re clearly catering for many nationalities, so the fish and stews weren’t for me. You get one a la carte visit included in your stay, rather than per week. 5-star hotels in Turkey are very varied, and you can tell what you’re getting by the price you pay. I think this hotel is good value for money and good choice for families. Our biggest complaint wasn’t to do with the hotel. It was the poor behaviour of some (or a lot) of the guests. Mainly queue jumping in the buffets, bars and on the slides. General rudeness and arrogance towards staff and other guests. Western Europeans are definitely in the minority and the lack of manners was a constant. Unfortunately I think this is the same throughout Turkey due to Russian travel restrictions, so not an issue with just this hotel. We love Antalya and have visited many times, but over the last few years the dynamic has changed so much, it’s becoming a less appealing family holiday choice. TIPS FOR GUESTS: * Buy all the cosmetics and sun lotion you need for your trip prior to going, including lilos and pool toys. The hotel supermarket is very expensive, but the shops opposite aren’t much cheaper. A box of tam

Absolutely great family hotel. All the staff were a credit to the hotel, very friendly and helpful all week from the moment we arrived. The food was good and always plenty of choice which is great as we had picky eaters in our party. Great pool areas with the added bonus of a pool right next to the beach too. The water park and children’s splash park were great. Rooms were cleaned every day and had great air conditioning which we really needed as it was over 40 degrees on some days. Wished I’d taken my travel hairdryer though as the hotel one was ok but took ages to dry my hair. ( not that it mattered with the humidity on a night…. LOL). All in all, we didn’t encounter any problems all week and I’d certainly recommend it especially for families. If you check out the hotel website you get a good 360 degree video tour !! Plus lots of useful information.